Kyon -- Big Damn Hero: The Watanagashi Festival

Disclaimer: The novel series of Suzumiya Haruhi that began with 'The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi' is the creation of Nagaru Tanigawa. No disrespect is intended by the posting of this fanfiction, as I do not own the characters or settings involved. I'm merely dabbling with another set of paints. TVtropes (the website) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License, and so is every part of this fic that isn't the property of someone else. For example: Additional characters are borrowed from Higurashi, which is the creation of Ryukishi07, and Half Life 2, which is the property of Valve.

"Third Chorus: Focus"

"Carrier waves projecting memetic information on a wide spectrum abound and can easily become overwhelming, even with persistent observation. The inherent limitations of this can be bypassed by restricting attention to harmonic resonances beyond the most critical elements within the observational scope."

"Perspective" -- LP-MK:SK Memetic String (-working translation-)

She was still trying to process everything that was going on ... but she was seeing -- thanks to Kyon's aunts and uncle -- that such an arrangement evidently could work. Moreover, Sasaki had made the decision that she was going to be friends with Haruhi, so it seemed at least worth trying.

They were people she enjoyed spending time with, too, though she planned on getting to know all of them better. Ironically, though she suspected she'd known Kuyou longer, the mysterious dark-haired girl seemed much closer to Yuki than herself.

Well, no sense getting jealous. She just needed to learn more about the others -- and Kuyou as well.

While Kyon was out with Tsuruya, Mikuru went to the kitchen with Kuyou. Evidently the older girl was an avid baker, and after spending some time weaving Kuyou's hair into a pair of extraordinarily thick braids, the pair began work constructing a cake to surprise him with on his return. Haruhi handled more of the cooking, though Mikuru seemed to be the expert on that as well, offering her advice, which Haruhi accepted without hesitation.

Not wanting to get in the way, Sasaki found herself waiting in the living room with Yuki and the diminutive Kanae.

To try and learn a bit more about them, she raised the topic of their common interest: Kyon.

The younger girl was quite adorable, and unquestionably head-over-heels for the boy. While she was vague about it, evidently Kyon had rescued her from some unsavory characters. Sasaki could certainly understand that!

Yuki wasn't very specific either, but as Kanae explained it, Kyon had helped her substantially with some family problems.

Well, he'd come a long way from middle school, managing to -- in some ways -- fulfill his daydreams about being a hero. She couldn't really look down on it, though. He'd fought off thugs and kidnappers for her as well!

With Mikuru overseeing the work in the kitchen, they managed to get the cake and a small mountain of appetizers prepared before Kyon and Tsuruya returned. Having arranged it with Haruhi beforehand, Tsuruya stalled Kyon in the doorway so they could all crowd around and cheer, "Surprise!" as soon as he opened it.

Sasaki thought he might have expected it, but he must have been distracted by other factors -- if his reaction to a kiss was anything close to hers, she could understand why! Then again, Tsuruya must have had more practice with it than Sasaki....

She squashed a minor surge of jealousy at that. Really, it was more annoying that Haruhi had hidden the entire thing from her, but she realized there were good, logical reasons for it. It might have been embarrassing to have so many witnesses to her first kiss, but on the other hand, she got to share it with the one person she most wanted to.

The group of them led Kyon to the living room, where Mikuru and Kuyou had laid out the cake and appetizers on the kotatsu, Mikuru and Haruhi taking up the spots at his sides. "That's quite impressive!" he remarked, looking at the cake in surprise. "Did ... you make this, Mikuru?"

"Ah, no," she insisted, shaking her head quickly. "It was Kuyou-chan -- I just helped!"

Kuyou smiled, an expression Sasaki realized she hadn't seen her adopt before. At least ... not quite that particular smile. This one seemed so much more genuine than the others she'd shown! Kyon nodded, before double-taking at her braids. "That's an interesting look," he said belatedly.

"That, Mikuru-chan must take full credit for," Haruhi added, smirking. "I think she likes playing with Kuyou-chan's hair."

Mikuru blushed, and Sasaki smiled with the others -- it was easy to feel companionable after such an exchange.

"Um-- But Su--" Catching herself at the younger girl's sharp look and raised eyebrow, Mikuru corrected herself, "Um, Haruhi cooked the rest!"

"Haha, this tastes like Mikuru-chan's handiwork!" Tsuruya exclaimed, after nibbling a bit of the fare. "She's too modest!"

"Well, Haruhi's not bad by any stretch either," Kyon countered. "In any case ... I'm honored to get this chance to spend time like this with...." He trailed off and made a face. "Um. I have no idea how to say it respectfully, so for now I'll say 'all of you'."

"That ... might work," Haruhi allowed, fanning her face as she blushed. "Um -- but that's aside from the point! Kyon, it's your birthday, so ... I made you something!"

Sasaki started, realizing she hadn't thought to bring anything -- that wasn't any good.... Haruhi reached beneath the table and proudly produced a small package, carefully wrapped.

He accepted it with a smile as Kanae produced a small package of her own, smiling proudly.

"Tsuruya-hime, you give everyone enough that you don't need to," Kyon assured her, turning his attention to Haruhi's gift.

"You made Kyon that coat," Haruhi reminded the older girl with a grin, before she could protest. "And you helped Kuyou-chan make this cake, too -- leave the rest of us some chances to give Kyon nice stuff!"

"It's fine, Mikuru, really," Kyon agreed, giving her a warm smile before turning his attention to the package before him and unwrapping it. Sasaki was impressed at what he pulled out -- while it was clearly made by hand, the scarf was also very well made. "Oh ... that's very thoughtful," he remarked.

"I know it won't be useful for months," Haruhi said, "um, but...." She trailed off as he lifted it up -- it was wool, and seemed to be striped in a rather eclectic selection of colors. It was also extremely long. If he didn't loop it around his neck several times, it was long enough to share with someone next to him -- possibly more than one person ... and Sasaki belatedly realized that was probably even the intent of it, as well.

"That's cute!" Sasaki encouraged, once Kyon had managed to run what looked like six meters of the material through his hands.

"Enough to share!" Kanae added with a giggle, catching the same intent that Sasaki had.

"A-anyway, what did you get him, Kanae-chan?" she insisted, trying to shift focus away from herself.

"Thank you, Haruhi," Kyon said sincerely, which made her blush even more deeply, before he turned his attention to Kanae. She proudly offered up a very thin wrapped package. He accepted it curiously, carefully tearing open the paper and revealing a single sheet of paper.

"Oh, my!" Sasaki couldn't help but exclaim. Kyon's expression suggested he wasn't sure what to make of a sketch of himself ... well, more than just a quick sketch. It was quite detailed. The proportions seemed amazing, too; Kanae's sense of scale was absolutely perfect.

"I ... think this is very impressive work, Kanae-chan," Kyon said after a moment.

"I like it too, Kanae-chan," Haruhi chimed in, smirking. "Though, Kyon is probably a bit confused at why you gave him a drawing of himself wearing only swimming trunks and his coat."

Kyon nodded thoughtfully, pulling another page from the package on the table. There were a dozen pages in all, which seemed to all match the same quality, and showed Kyon fighting against a giant robot on the beach somewhere in proper heroic fashion. It struck Sasaki as particularly shounen in nature -- until the ending sequence, where the Kyon on the paper kissed Kanae.

"Aha, I feel like I was there, now!" Tsuruya remarked, looking more thoughtful than amused. "Though, hum.... That was the first time I met Sasaki-chan, too."

She jolted slightly at how familiar Tsuruya already behaved toward her. "I-- I recall that day," Sasaki agreed. Kyon had even mentioned ... fighting robots or something like that, hadn't he? What had actually happened?

"Well, I'm sorry about that," Tsuruya said thoughtfully. "But -- I'm glad we can all overcome that for this!"

"Right -- we'll have to add that to our archives, Kanae-chan," Haruhi agreed. "Excellent work!"

"Thank you, Kanae-chan," Kyon agreed, favoring the girl with a smile that made her duck her head in embarrassment. "This is amazing."

"Come to think of it ... Yuki-chan, did you get a picture of Sasaki-chan and Kyon's first kiss? You did right? Just like we discussed?"

Yuki nodded slightly, and Sasaki felt her face heat up. The quiet girl had a camera? She'd been taking pictures? "Full video," Yuki said softly.

Sasaki couldn't help but whimper, covering her face. "Goodness!" she exclaimed, muffled by her own hands.

Haruhi chuckled and put one arm about her. "Is it half as embarrassing as agreeing to share Kyon?" she chided.

"I'm not certain that helps!" Sasaki laughed, settling slightly. "But, yes, you're right.... Um, I'm terribly sorry, Kyon, I wasn't prepared and so ... I have nothing to offer you!" In fact, she couldn't even cook or bake like the other girls could, and she doubted her knitting could match Haruhi's scarf!

"You-- You didn't really have a chance to prepare, though," Mikuru consoled her, smiling gently.

"It's not a problem," Kyon agreed, shaking his head. Pausing to indicate everyone, he added, "Realistically, just by having, uh ... well, you, I can't ask for much more!"

"And yet, Yuki-chan did mention getting something for you," Haruhi prompted, looking toward the quiet girl.

"This gift was prepared in advance," Yuki said quietly, reaching behind her and moving a very large box around. She braced to lift it, and Kyon shook his head quickly.

"Ah-- I'll, I'll move around the table for that, Yuki-chan," he said, rising curiously and moving around to accept the package.

Sasaki had to wonder where the box came from -- obviously Yuki had hidden it behind the couch, or something along those lines -- but how had she fit it in the bags she had brought with them when they first arrived? Then again ... perhaps it had been moved while she was blindfolded?

Well, that raised a whole slew of uncomfortable questions, which she was working hard on not thinking about for the moment.

She shook her head to see Kyon accepting the package with a curious expression. He moved it to one side as everyone crowded around him to watch. It was just a plain brown box, with no visible labels or markings on it. Shrugging, Kyon lifted the lid, prompting Haruhi to gasp quietly, and the rest to make curious responses of their own.

"Sempai-- Can you play?" Kanae asked in excitement, eyes widening, as Kyon pulled a guitar case out, and then removed the guitar from within, holding it aloft and looking at it in astonishment. Sasaki wished she knew more about them to judge what kind it was, since she was certain there were many, but he looked quite the figure just holding it.

She cut off as Kyon climbed to his feet without hesitation, fingers going to the strings swiftly, and after a single scale, started began plucking out a tune. It wasn't connected to an amplifier, but to Sasaki's ears he was playing an unfamiliar song -- evidently without missing a note.

Not breaking from the tune he was strumming, Kyon gave a short shake of his head, smiling softly. "Yuki-chan taught me this," he admitted.

"Well, yes! But that's my point! We could be an awesome band!" Turning to Sasaki, she excitedly asked, "Can you play anything?"

"Ah, I learned how to play piano," she offered cautiously. "I don't know if I'm very good, though...."

"Haruhi," Kyon sighed. "Aren't we a bit wrapped up in other things at the moment? Becoming a band...."

Sasaki winced sympathetically at the way Haruhi's cheer vanished with a grimace.

"Why not just be friends and play together when we feel like it?" he offered, giving her a small smile. "I have a suspicion that Yuki-chan taught me how to play in the first place so she wouldn't have to," he added.

For her part, Yuki's cheeks turned the slightest bit pink -- almost undetectably -- as she offered a tiny nod.

Haruhi stared at her in surprise for a moment, and then shook her head. "Okay, no band," she relented with a grumble.

"And thank you, Yuki-chan -- I really didn't expect this," Kyon added sincerely.

"But we can still play!" Tsuruya encouraged. "I don't know how to play anything good for a modern band, but I can sing a little bit! I bet Kanae-chan can, too! So we can still have fun with it together, Haru-nyan."

"That's true, that's true," Haruhi sighed. Offering an embarrassed smile, she added, "I got carried away. Now I'll just be jealous of Yuki-chan giving you something so awesome!"

Haruhi made a face. "Okay!" she allowed, laughing. "I'm ... really being silly, aren't I? Well -- in any case, did anyone else have something for Kyon?"

After surveying everyone present, as Kyon carefully put the guitar back in its case, pausing when he realized Kuyou was silently staring. Had been since he'd started, actually. "Did you like that song?" he asked her belatedly.

"You ... want to play?" he asked, pulling the instrument out and offering it toward the frequently silent girl.

"That's quite a scope to cover!" Sasaki mused. "I hadn't known that side of you! Or Kyon, either!" She had thought that his younger self wouldn't have been above boasting over his skills, but it was unlikely he'd learned to play that well just since middle school. Much like his ability to fight, it must have been something he was just modest about....

Some small doubt tried to bubble up in the back of her mind, but she quashed it down. Now wasn't the time for that.

"We can figure that out, then!" Haruhi decided. "Now -- we're all going to enjoy Watanagashi, but first, a penalty for anyone who didn't get Kyon a present or help with preparations!" she declared.

"Precisely!" Haruhi agreed, nodding. "Therefore ... you will have to be Kyon's official date!"

Sasaki laughed in surprise, shaking her head. "I thought you said it was a penalty?"

"Well, we'll have the rest of the weekend with Kyon, after this," Haruhi explained. "You'll have to go straight back to school tomorrow."

"Hmm?" Mikuru wondered, cocking her head slightly to one side. "Oh, right! Mion-san left us a box of kimono to wear to the festival! Um, after we eat, we can change!"

"Ah, we'd better hurry; the festival starts at sunset!" Kanae exclaimed. "Um, Mikuru-onee, this is delicious!"

Sasaki dazedly wondered ... how had it come to this? She certainly wasn't going to complain, but an actual date with Kyon? She knew that she should be more worried about her mother, and school, and the time she was missing ... but found she was looking forward to it too much to focus on those things!

Since Nonoko was playing with her cousins, Ryouko had remained in the background. Even though they were related, the genetic variance was high enough that the other children couldn't see her without Ryouko making extra effort to be visible. Thanks to Kuyou and the unexpected presence of Hanyuu, Ryouko had plenty to occupy her, but she still was glad to see that Nonoko was having fun.

As Kyon was on a 'date' with Sasaki, and the other girls were watching over Kyon's cousins, Yuki had quietly ordered Ryouko to 'observe.' Ryouko wasn't able to determine what precisely she was supposed to be observing, but had noted some elements.

First, Kyon and Sasaki seemed to blend in with the crowd in their yukata and kimono, and no one looked at Kuyou suspiciously in her re-used costume from Haruhi's flash-mob, either. Such costumes seemed very common for the village festival. Secondly, since she was perched on Kuyou's shoulder, and the dark-haired entity had taken one of Kyon's arms, the boy in question seemed to have grown much less concerned with Ryouko's presence.

There was a cautious correlation between factors that started analysis in a distant subprocess. She had unexpected -- unregulated -- 'feelings' concerning Nonoko. She was not just made to feel negatively when Nonoko was in danger, she felt ... positive when Nonoko was happy? Something about this seemed to make Kyon more comfortable in her presence?

There was also the interplay between Kyon, Sasaki, and Kuyou -- something Ryouko couldn't experience directly. She could feel it via Kuyou, though. That was different, but had surprising commonalities with the positive feelings she felt with regard for Nonoko!

It was initially very frustrating (another unexpected emotion) to deal with emotions without a convenient 'off' switch of some sort; Ryouko was starting to suspect that Yuki didn't bother engaging her own at all. It made functioning very different, and she had always judged that sort of existence to be inherently inferior. Why would someone choose to have that state of being?

Well, presumably organic beings didn't actually have a choice, did they? In that sense, Ryouko (and before her, Yuki) were gaining more accurate knowledge about the organic existence, but something about it ran deeper than just more accurate data gathering. Clearly, the IDSE knew about this, and that was why interfaces existed as an insulative measure to protect it from directly experiencing that sort of thing.

But more than that ... the process of experiencing emotions on their own, instead of only when she judged it was correct.... There was something to that. Was that what Yuki had wanted her to observe?

Then again, when Kuyou tugged Kyon's arms, leading him (and therefore Sasaki) behind a stall, she wondered if it were perhaps simpler.

"My," Sasaki breathed, as Kuyou disengaged the field effect that caused most people to ignore her. "Um ... I had thought it would be just us, Kyon...."

"Now, don't you dare apologize," Sasaki admonished with a gentle giggle, waggling a fingertip at him. "As much as I might enjoy the opportunity to have some time ... alone with you, I have agreed to share what time I do have, haven't I? And being entirely honest, sometimes I wonder if I'm the sort of person who would -- alone -- be enough for another, so this isn't entirely unfitting. In a way, even if I sometimes wish to be more selfish, the thought of not having to be at the center, but instead enjoying a participatory role from the sidelines is a comfortable position for me. Also, Suou-san is my friend, too, though--"

"Ah, right," Sasaki agreed, blushing faintly. "W...well, also there is the fact that it might be ... tempting to push things more quickly than perhaps I would if it were just the pair of us alone; Haruhi is quite likely to ambush us with a camera and snap opportune pictures were we to...." She trailed off, giggling again.

Kyon looked like he would have scratched the back of his head and chuckled, his face reddening slightly. "You're right," he agreed. "I-- I mean ... this whole thing is crazy enough. I'm willing to give it a shot, considering how much effort everyone else is putting into it, but I'm still a bit scared -- it's really overwhelming! Though, I do feel you deserve at least as much as everyone else. That's the best I can do, though, so that's what I'd like to give. It probably is for the best that we be a bit more restrained, just now...."

"Restrained!" Kuyou agreed, smiling softly as she tightened her grip on Kyon's arm -- and then leaned in to claim a kiss before he could protest.

Sasaki's eyes widened as Ryouko reflexively captured the moment in her observation. "I-- Oh, my!" she remarked, clinging to Kyon's other arm even more tightly.

"I-- I don't think that was the plan!" Kyon exclaimed, wincing and dropping his voice, since they were out of sight of the main group of festival goers at the moment. He wasn't quite fast enough, and an irate looking man stuck his head out from the rear flap of the stall they were using for cover -- even in the darkness Kyon only needed a heartbeat to recognize the man.

Ryouko had a filed reference to him being one of the ones present in discussion with Kyon's aunts when they had first arrived in Hinamizawa. Well, it was a small village! The man paled, and silently vanished back into his stall, deciding not to comment.

While Kuyou was aware, she didn't react, and evidently neither Kyon nor Sasaki had noticed.

"Well..." Sasaki started hesitantly, blushing faintly and not meeting his eyes. "If you're uncertain, but willing to give it your best ... then I'm reassured you're still the same Kyon that I ... liked so much back then, and you haven't become some terrible playboy. But ... if you don't mind anyway...." She firmed her resolve, and since she was still holding one of Kyon's arms, he couldn't resist very well when she copied the move of the dark-haired entity.

While she was still uncertain about the whole 'sharing' idea, she tried to put up a good front about it. Despite not being wholly convinced, Sasaki had to admit that she was warming to the concept quite rapidly. She wouldn't have minded having some time to walk around the festival alone with Kyon on a 'date,' either, but she consoled herself that she'd managed to spoil her chances for that by being careless with her responses to Kyon's hesitant confession in middle school.

So getting to enjoy some time with him and Kuyou wasn't actually that bad at all. While she'd imagined him being a bit more confident about it, he was astonishingly cute when flustered, too! She wasn't certain she could actually throw him off on her own, and when he kissed her back, she found she stopped really caring that much ... but there was no reason to rush. In that regard, having Kuyou along both smoothed some difficulties over, and acted as a sort of brake to keep things from escalating too quickly.

She tried to keep her mind away from thoughts of stereotypical romantic situations regarding festivals, and she especially ignored the idea of double-teaming Kyon with Haruhi, dragging him off into the woods and--

Anyway, after a few minutes of trying to suffocate Kyon via kissing (he was giving better than he got, even outnumbered), she finally managed a cough, ducking her head at the end of the last kiss. "W...we should see your cousin's ceremony soon, shouldn't we?" she managed, fanning her face with her free hand.

"Harmonious," Kuyou chimed in, as the three returned to the thin crowds milling around the festival grounds-- Almost instantly, they ran into the other girls, Kyon's cousins and aunts trailing behind them.

"Ah!" Tsuruya exclaimed as Sasaki and Kuyou both released Kyon's arms, before the cousins could spot it -- though, Matsuri (the most jealous one) wasn't in sight. "There you are!"

Haruhi bit back laughter, but wasn't able to keep an amused smirk from her face. "Having fun?" she pressed.

Holding Yurie's hand, Rena mused, "This atmosphere is so pleasant! Ah, to be so young again! Kei-chan, aren't you jealous?" She added a gentle elbowing to the man walking nearby -- Sasaki had somehow missed him earlier.

"Aha," Satoko chuckled. "Mion-chan, what would Rika-chan say if she were here instead of helping Matsu-chan get ready?"

"I think it would be, 'Doki-doki,'" the green-haired woman replied with a knowing grin, glancing across the older girls.

At Keiichi's side, his son narrowed his eyes, frowning intently. "Icky," he judged warningly.

"Er-- Um, is Matsu-chan's performance coming soon?" Mikuru asked anxiously, clasping her hands together.

"Should be!" Haruhi exclaimed, glancing at the sky. "Hey, hey-- We've got to get good spots to watch it! Yuki-chan, are you ready to record it? Oh, wait, is recording allowed?"

"Mm, yeah, as long as you aren't taking pictures of or inside the saiguden, or flash photography," Keiichi agreed. "Alright, my daughter will send Oyashiro-sama after me if we miss her on stage -- come on, Kyon-kun, you know it'd mean the world to her if you were among the first to take a cotton ball down to the river!"

"Er, right," Kyon managed belatedly, scratching the back of his head nervously and avoiding meeting Shutaro's suspicious gaze.

It didn't take long for their group to get to the main festival grounds, just before the nearby booths began shutting down in observance of the ceremony. Yuki prepared her phone, but after glancing at her thoughtfully, Yurie suggested, "Nee-chan, can you let me sit on your shoulders, I wonder, I wonder?"

"Yurie-chan," Rena scolded, "you should be mindful of someone's size before you ask...." She trailed off, and even Sasaki was a bit surprised at how little effort Yuki put into lifting the smaller girl to sit atop her shoulders, able to balance easily and still pass the phone up.

Yurie smirked knowingly. "Girls can be strong too -- like you, Mom!" she said. "And if I asked Kyon-nii, wouldn't Matsu-chan get jealous?"

"Oh, right...." He lifted his own son to his shoulders to get a better view as Yurie stuck her tongue out in concentration and aimed the camera at the stage.

Sasaki giggled at the scene -- though most of the other girls laughed with her. A hush fell over the area as the ritual music sounded. First was the eerie flute, punctuated by an almost unnoticeable drumming, and then a more prominent jingling of bells joined in-- Kuyou's eyebrows rose and she leaned forward, drawn in by the sound.

On the stage in front of the steps leading up into the shrine, Matsuri stepped forward, looking adorable in her shrine maiden outfit. Rena bit back a squeal of delight at her image, obviously struggling to restrain herself from running forward to hug the small girl mid-ritual. Her steps were surprisingly sure, her sandals stamping in time with the bells. Her face was a solemn mask, and if Sasaki hadn't caught the way her eyes anxiously searched out Kyon, she might have thought she was hypnotized.

Once she spotted her older cousin, she subtly straightened up, perfectly confident as she wielded a ritual implement. It looked like a wickedly hooked rake, adorned with folded prayer paper -- shide -- like an exorcist's wand for a purification. Well, this was related, Sasaki reminded herself as Matsuri raised it and then brought it down onto the mass of cotton sharing the stage with her.

With careful deliberation, Matsuri used the rake to hook out bits and balls of cotton, shifting them to the side-- A line of people was already set to receive them, carrying them in both hands as they accepted their balls of cotton. Rika was the first, dressed identically to her daughter, and behind her was Mion, who had hurried ahead from their group earlier -- as pillars of the community, Sasaki expected.

Satoko was next, followed by her brother, and then his wife-- Haruhi pushed Kyon forward before the line could grow too much longer, and he ended up standing just behind a tall man with gray hair that Sasaki didn't recognize, and an older woman that she suspected was related. In a stage whisper, Rena explained, "That's Akasaka-san and his daughter; he's a very, very good friend of ours. We owe him quite a lot -- he used to be part of the NPA!"

Kyon and the woman ahead of him gave one-another uncertain smiles.... Sasaki had to wonder what that meant, but had a suspicion, and asked, "Did his daughter follow in his footsteps?"

Well ... Sasaki was a bit anxious about that; in theory the NPA might be the enemy, considering Kyon's job. But Kyon gave her a cautious smile as he received his handfuls of cotton from Matsuri, and Akasaka's daughter forced one in return. Either there was an uneasy truce, or something was going on.... She was sure it would be alright in the end, though. She glanced to one side, frowning.

Yuki's expression shifted from its normal smooth calm to a very mild demonstration of irritation and anxiety. Haruhi caught it, and grimaced. "Why now?" she muttered sourly.

"Ah ... what should we...." Sasaki trailed off as Rena looked over curiously, while Yurie jolted slightly -- though Yuki remained perfectly steady, still supporting her on her shoulder.

The smaller girl exclaimed, "An early firework!" as she readjusted the camera phone upward, where a tiny spark of red streaked down, flickering and brightening in intensity.

Sasaki held her breath anxiously ... that was a rare event -- surely it wasn't aimed toward them, though ... was it? Normally, she wouldn't even consider the possibility, given reasonable probabilities. But after being the target of attempted kidnappings -- repeatedly -- and the seemingly impossible relationship she'd found herself in....

"I...it must have been a larger meteorite that broke into pieces," Sasaki reasoned, as more bright, fiery streaks joined the first, all of them coming down -- toward the river, though it was hard to tell how close by. She planned to count the interval between the flash of impact and the sound of the explosion ... but it must have been too distant after all; the burning projectiles seemed to fall and vanish without any fanfare.

Grimacing, Haruhi shook her head. "Something came up," she said unhappily. "He'll be back, soon." Under her breath, she added, "He'd better be, anyway...."

Halfway between the shrine and the river, Ryouko popped into view from seemingly nowhere, dropping onto Kyon's shoulder with an exclaimed, "Incoming!"

The world around him exploded into augmented reality vision; wire-frames overlaid all the trees and bushes around him, allowing for effectively perfect night vision. He managed a muffled curse at a group of eight rapidly descending targets. Ryouko had helpfully labeled them 'Sliderbot_005' through 'Sliderbot_012,' along with their range in meters, which was a number counting down, followed by a different very short countdown reading off the time before they reached the surface.

More AR tags lit up, showing projected landing sites. "Where's Kuyou?" he asked, unhesitatingly sprinting through the woods toward the anticipated battleground.

"Here," Kuyou answered at his side, already shifting to her smaller form and landing on the shoulder opposite Ryouko.

"Okay -- Haruhi is with my cousins?" he asked, ducking under a branch and sliding to a halt at the edge of the river, gauging that he likely had enough distance from the expected impact, while still being close enough to engage the enemy once they arrived. "Is any of the rest of the Brigade coming?"

"Right -- Kuyou, if you can, bring us and the slider robots to your, uh, shadow song, so we can keep this from reaching the festival," he ordered, bracing himself, barely even noticing the shifting wave of changing space as it swept out, grabbing the robotic things even as they fell through the atmosphere. "Is Wataru coming in, too?"

"It seems they couldn't get a good targeting fix!" Ryouko exclaimed. "They probably came in at that altitude to avoid any risk of translating in inside solid matter; once the robots touch down, they'll probably make a portal for him to cross over!"

"Okay -- let's try and take one or two out before he shows up," Kyon reasoned, shifting his greatcoat out of the illusion of a yukata. "The more we stop now, the longer it takes them to rally another full-scale invasion force."

"Seek and destroy!" the small form of Ryouko agreed, seeming happy about the idea.

Hmm, that was right. He'd used Gungnir before, but other than that, didn't have a real measure for which attacks would work against the robots. Well, he'd never really used Altair and Vega that much, anyway, except the time he'd fought against Ryouko, and sometimes in very low power modes against Sumiyoshi-rengo.

There was a surreal moment when he jogged around a small bush and took cover behind a much larger tree as he realized that he didn't think of fights against large forces of boryokudan as a big deal anymore. Sure, some of them were stressful, and he'd even gotten hurt a few times. But they somehow didn't measure up against extra-dimensional invasions--

And just as he thought that, his personal shields flared, soaking up the debris and heat exploding out from the impact of the first arriving robots, deafening booms muted by some property of the skinsuit he'd never really thought about before. That was a nearby one, Kyon deduced, blinded momentarily by the flash of his shields lighting up. Worse, there was a cloud of steam from the nearby river, as well as mixed smoke and dust.

Ryouko didn't hesitate, though, and even blinded, her AR overlay continually updated, showing him wire-frames of the nearby trees, the impact craters beneath the new arrivals, and most importantly, in vivid red, the targeting information he needed.

He wasted no further time, lofting Altair into hand and shifting it into one of the more heavy-hitting configurations that he and Yuki had programmed into it. The weapon extended and became largely hollow, assuming a tube-like formation, with a small targeting scope that folded out. He put his eye to it largely by reflex, hardly needed thanks to Ryouko's targeting aid, and fired a rail-accelerated needle directly at the nearest slider bot.

The projectile moved so swiftly it appeared to be nothing more than a beam of energy, lancing instantaneously into the obscuring clouds.

The enemy robot barely had time to unfold from its tight, spindle-shaped entry posture before the spike passed through its shields and bored completely through the central carapace. Kyon's actual view was underwhelming; a bright spot in the cloud of dust and smoke. In augmented reality, the spindly thing fell over, limbs splaying awkwardly around it as a brilliant jet of energy sprayed out the far side of it, washing over the shields of the other seven units.

Surprisingly, Kuyou shot out after the projectile, but at a much more sedate, sub-sonic speed. Her tiny form acted like some sort of video-game companion, pausing for a moment after reaching the enemy unit and then shooting back and landing on his shoulder as though she'd never left -- other than the brief tunnels bored through the clouds.

"Disharmony with the other," Kuyou added answered, holding a tiny, sparkling point between her hands, blinking at him.

"It's effectively their power core!" Ryouko cheered. "It's a propagated memetic change from the energy sources the enemy sent, converting it into something that we can use, and they can't call back! Their system requires them to reclaim the energy and mass of what they send over, or they lose it, right? Well, she makes sure they can't recover it without taking it back from us!"

"That sounds great," Kyon allowed, targeting the next robot -- but not entirely surprised when the rail-accelerated spike slid off the shield, blasting into the side of a distant hill across the river and sending up a massive explosion. Well, unless he was mistaken, his sword was essentially built out of power cores they'd gotten from other robots of the same type anyway.

"Their shields have shifted from reentry to combat readiness!" the blue-haired figure on his shoulder added helpfully. "Also, incoming fire!"

Well, he reasoned, dashing up the hill, as the trees around him exploded into flame from a concentration of no less than four energy beams, he shouldn't be that surprised. He shifted the weapon back to neutral form in his coat, mid-dash, and readied his beam saber, instead. If he had to fight in close quarters, he'd need cover, and the trees weren't lasting more than a second at best against the energy coming off the attacking robots.

The blade hummed into life in his hands, nearly weightlessly, his grip reflexively holding it in a guard stance before him.

The change in shield function wasn't that surprising, though. More importantly, he still had allies to back him up, and if his friends were risking being involved, that meant he needed to try and keep the robots busy.

"Ryouko, activate Vega in ECM mode," he ordered, absently flipping the cylinder out of his coat and into the air; it shifted into an orb that hovered over his shoulder, just before the small interface.

"Okay!" she chirped in response, putting her hands on the malmetal, as it shifted and swiftly began beaming tight lances of electromagnetic interference directly at the enemy sensors.

"Focus especially on any that might be targeting allies!" he added, wincing as a beam emerged from the cloud, drawing a long line of molten earth through the hillside next to him. His shielding glowed dully just from the cast-off heat of that narrow miss ... between that and the active interference he was blasting out, there was no chance of going unnoticed. This entire forest would be destroyed by the time the battle was finished, he had no doubt ... thank goodness it was inside a pocket dimension, and not the real world!

Thinking that, he steeled himself, charging into the mix. It wasn't the best option, but if Ryouko did a good job on her countermeasures, she might be able to get the bots to hit one-another. If that failed, well ... throwing things (with a little help from Kuyou) seemed to bypass their shields, somehow. So that was an option.

He winced at another near miss, sapping another trace of power from his defenses as he accelerated himself forward in an arcing leap, the dust being superheated into what seemed like plasma behind him as he did so.

Well, he'd never gotten to actually use the beam-saber before, so there was no time like the present, was there? Three of the slider bots were closer, and the other four would be acting as fire support. He wasted no time throwing himself under yet another blast -- this one making his shields bleed energy much, much faster than he would have liked.

With the field below him set to frictionless, he shot forward beneath the spindly construct, mildly surprised he didn't hit its own force field -- and even more surprised at how easily his blade sheared straight through the carapace on the long axis. It sparked and fell apart, internals dripping some strange blue fluid, and what looked like liquid sparks--

He had the strangest idea some terrible reaction was forming before Kuyou launched herself at it, retrieving another of the sparkling lights. The beam saber hadn't transfered any effective resistance to him at all; if he'd only been trained in traditional sword use, that would have thrown him. As it was, he was surprised, but Yuki had worked hard to hone his reflexes properly--

Before he could really think about it, he was already rolling to his feet and getting directly tagged by the next nearest slider-bot, even as he charged into it. Perhaps he'd been a bit too sure of his ability to take the things on?

He was too close to it for its main beam to track him by the time it had reached full intensity; he felt overheated and his shoulder was tingling unpleasantly, but his own shielding held-- And from there he was close enough to completely bisect the core of the robot's oblong chassis with his beam saber, yielding another great splash of sparks and fluid.

But Kuyou said he had allies, hadn't she? He wondered at that, actually reaching out with his empty hand and snagging her tiny form deftly after she grabbed the spark. He hadn't really thought about it, just acting on reflex as the nearest remaining robot abruptly compensated for the interference Ryouko was sending via Vega; he managed to turn and take the blast himself, protecting the small dark-haired entity, though it completely depleted the shields remaining, and left him dazed. Even with augmented reality, his vision was flooded with bright spots and irregular, nonsense shapes.

When the next bolt of energy was about to strike him, and was instead absorbed by a part of the cloud, he heaved a sigh of relief, not realizing he had even been holding his breath until then. Somehow, he actually enjoyed fighting against these things with Koizumi at his side best. Koizumi could barely even be hurt, as far as he could tell, unlike most of their other allies!

Of course, Ryouko's augmented reality objects indicated a vaguely female shape hiding outside of the cloud, but watching -- Kyouko was a potential vulnerable point, so she needed to be kept safe.

The captured energy in the cloud swirled around the same robot that had tried to launch it, scoring the hull as the robot's weapons shifted, uncertain of where to aim-- Kyon wasn't about to pass up on a chance like that!

She was still trying to figure out what the wave of nausea she'd been struck with after she followed Kyon into the woods meant when a group of closely clustered and nearly deafening explosions rang out-- She'd reflexively thrown herself flat, waiting until she could make sense of the situation. She wasn't armed, since she was on vacation.

Well, ostensibly on vacation; in reality, she (much like her father before her) barely ever stopped working. Since she was trying to see what Kyon might be up to, she supposed she was on the job in some sense.

Once she'd caught her breath and could hear again, there were a series of high-pitched buzzing noises ringing out -- along with completely blinding lances of light, scoring the surrounding area. She had no idea what that could be, and as curious as she was, she was close enough for her tastes. The smoke and dust had only just cleared when Miyuki peeked out, wondering if she'd been slipped a hallucinogen.

Kyon had found the time to change his outfit, though he looked winded and ... faintly singed? His face was smudged with ash, and his coat looked surprisingly ragged. However, the part Miyuki was most trying to process was the fact that he was evidently facing off against some poorly considered work of modern art.

The 'legs' of the giant metal insect, or whatever it was supposed to be, clearly couldn't actually support the weight of that central structure. It had to be suspended by wire-- Until it moved.

Okay, she reevaluated, it was some kind of puppet. Working ... through the trees.

The glowing tear in space leading into who-knew-what ... that was the reason to suspect hallucinogens. An unfamiliar boy was glowering at Kyon. "You think destroying some striders and hunters is going to stop the Combine, foolish monkey?" he sneered.

"Actually, it's been working out pretty well so far," Kyon replied, shrugging. "Though, which ones are hunters, and which are striders?"

Miyuki squinted when a third voice mused, "I believe the striders are the ones with energy beams. I haven't seen any hunters personally."

"Oh, look, monkey can learn," the ... invader? Miyuki supposed he must have been, somehow. For all the sense it made to put a teenager in charge of something like that. Then again, Kyon himself was far too young to be reasonably capable of the things she'd seen him do. "But not enough to stop showing us your entire hand!"

And a megalomaniac to boot, evidently. Certainly, he wasn't very good at keeping information to himself, either. What was this, anime exposition?

"Yeah, you've seen our entire capabilities," Kyon drawled, clearly unimpressed by the other boy. "What's your point, Wataru? Just thought you'd drop by, have a few of your slider bots get blasted into junk ... and then what?"

Miyuki winced at the stream of insults that escaped Wataru before he finally settled down, still seething. "You're still not good enough to protect Kanae forever," he added ... though she was surprised for all of his temper and screaming to detect a note of regret in his voice. Without her training and experience, she would easily have missed it. Kyon shifted very slightly -- she realized he must have picked it up, too.

"You keep telling yourself that," Kyon retorted, even though his confidence sounded at least partially feigned, to her.

Wataru spat one last stream of insults before backing through his portal -- a pair of similar portals swallowing up the two remaining robots.

He nodded, and Miyuki rubbed at her eyes as another girl appeared before Kyon -- this one with long, very dark hair. If it weren't for the full moon, making her pale face and hands glow, she would be entirely invisible in the evening.

"Thank you, Kuyou, Koizumi," Kyon said, heaving a sigh as he rubbed at his temples. After a pause, he added, "And ... you too, Ryouko."

"Think nothing of it," the invisible male voice answered, before a glowing red mist coalesced into human form. Miyuki noted the names, making a note to herself to double check her paperwork. There was a missing 'Ryouko' in that pile, she recalled, but it wasn't an uncommon name, so it could also be a coincidence.

The dark-haired figure nodded and waved a hand -- and Miyuki felt that disconcerting sense pass over her. When it passed, she realized she could hear the crowds of the festival again. Where had they gone? The lingering traces of dust and smoke were entirely gone, too -- and she suspected if she were to look, any traces of high-powered beams would be, too.

She climbed to her feet and rushed back toward the festival crowd, frowning thoughtfully. She wasn't certain what had happened yet, but getting discovered didn't seem like a good idea.

What in the world was all of that, anyway? It seemed impossible, but clearly it wasn't -- since it had actually happened. Well, how did that quote go?

'Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth'? That certainly seemed to apply here....

Haruhi wasn't happy about Kyon running off, but if something happened, she was probably able to help him best by keeping Sasaki uninvolved for the time being. Yuki seemed to be stuck, too, but at least he'd have Kuyou with him -- Ryouko, too, probably. Realizing she'd run off to play heroine without hesitation, Haruhi did manage to snare Kyon's little sister before the idea occurred to her.

She could do that much for Kyon, at least. Mikuru and Kanae both seemed to have not realized what was happening, just admiring the 'light show' before the fireworks. Tsuruya had, her smile fading briefly before she shook her head firmly. "Let's get our cotton!" she cheered, leading the others along.

Yuki lifted Yurie from her shoulders and set the girl carefully on the ground, nodding in agreement as the group joined the line waiting to get their own bundle of shredded cotton. In single file, they joined the line slowly weaving toward the riverbank -- though as they approached the bank, people began spreading out, wandering up or down stream and joining family. In the light of the full moon, many pale lumps were bobbing through the river.

Haruhi had to wonder what effect that would have on the river.... Hopefully that was all real cotton, and biodegradable!

It didn't take them long to carefully set their own little bundles gently on the water, where they slowly bobbed and spun away through the water.

Not long enough, anyway -- Matsuri had finished parceling out cotton and immediately dashed down the slope of the riverbank, ignoring her mother's gentle scolding to keep her uniform clean. "Where's Kyon-nii?" she demanded, putting her hands on her hips, pouting at Tsuruya firmly, small ritual rake still in hand.

"Here!" Koizumi remarked cheerfully, as the pair of them emerged from the woods on one side of the path. Kyon looked tired, but either was just fine, or hiding anything else beneath the illusion his coat could make.

"What were you doing back there?" Matsuri asked suspiciously, her eyes narrowing.

"Ah, Kyon-kun remarked that he wanted to wait for you," Koizumi offered. "But it was a bit awkward standing about and waiting, so we ducked behind the trees."

"Right," Kyon agreed belatedly, producing his cotton ball from one pocket and offering a sheepish smile.

"You're not supposed to put it in your pocket," Matsuri said dourly, though her eyes had lit up at the idea of Kyon waiting for her. "Well -- that's okay! I'll fix it!"

She held her small rake out, and Kyon obligingly offered out the cotton ball in both hands. Using the rear of the implement, instead of the sharpened tines, Matsuri waved it back and forth, the shide strips shaking like an exorcist's wand.

Looking inordinately pleased with herself, Matsuri bounced on her toes as she lowered the rake, adding, "O-oh, um, Kyon-nii-- For, um, for extra purification--"

"Matsu-chan, nothing about Watanagashi involves kissing," Rika said sternly, looking down at her daughter. Winking, she pursed her lips and blew a kiss at her own husband. "Chu~!"

"I-- I wasn't--" Matsuri started, her face turning beet red in the darkness. "I mean--" She stamped a foot and covered her eyes with one hand, protesting, "Mo~om!"

"Arg ... brain ... turning to mush!" he added, grinning at his children -- all of his children, other than the Houjou twins, Haruhi reminded herself, and not just 'Kyon's cousins.' "Save yourselves!"

"Hoho~!" Rika chuckled. "Behold the power of love! You're five or six years too young to channel such an awesome power, Matsu-chan -- something even stronger than Oyashiro's curse! Doki, doki~!"

"Called it," Satoko said with an amused roll of her eyes. "That's five more yen you owe me, Rena-chan."

"I'd pay a million times to see something so cute!" the author insisted. Leaning toward Mion, she asked conspiratorially, "Aren't they cute?"

"Without a doubt!" Mion agreed without hesitation. "Though, Kyon-kun, don't forget to put your cotton in the river before Matsu-chan recovers from the debilitating parental mushiness humiliation attack!"

"Er, right," he agreed belatedly, shaking his head. Haruhi snorted, unable to remain worried around Kyon's extended family -- especially after that little scene. The nearby villagers certainly didn't seem bothered by their shrine maidens behaving so, after the ceremony.

Crouching carefully by the riverside, Kyon placed his cotton gently on the water, among the last to do so -- the others being Sasaki, who had waited for him (Haruhi wished she'd thought of that) and the woman who had been in front of Kyon in line. The very last person, Haruhi realized with a jolt of alarm, was Fujiwara. What was he doing here?

He didn't seem to notice her, and she tuned out the crowd around her, focusing on him for a moment. He seemed ... withdrawn. He was looking out at the river and appeared more somber than anything else. Haruhi hadn't run into him nearly as often as Kyon had, but she didn't have a great impression of him.

Well ... Kyon didn't think he was an enemy, and evidently he once did save Kyon from being erased. Kyouko hadn't noticed him yet, but considering things, that was probably for the best. She'd only just started coming back out of her shell after the backlash of.... Haruhi still wasn't thrilled about her almost erasing Kyon from reality, but she was genuinely remorseful, and ... well, Koizumi was just about completely ignored since Haruhi (and the other girls) had collectively set their sights on Kyon. It was only fair for him, wasn't it?

Shaking her head slightly, she slipped away from the group, approaching Fujiwara. She wasn't sure how to broach the subject, so just said, "Hey." The second time traveler she'd gotten to meet ... third if Kyon was counted.

He glanced at her sharply, then nodded, turning his gaze to the reflection of the moon. Smoothing the kimono that Mion had loaned her down, Haruhi frowned. That was a bit anticlimactic, wasn't it?

"When?" Haruhi asked, frowning. Why was this guy so intent on acting like a jerk, anyway? Well, at least he wasn't ignoring her.

"Twenty minutes," he answered. "I'll take her through space, but not time, and leave her at my classified...." He coughed, scowling, and looked sharply away. "At Tsuruya's place," he growled.

What about Tsuruya's place was 'his', Haruhi wondered. Well.... He was behaving, and she was planning on traveling back in time. She had plenty of time to think about it and talk to him in -- from her perspective -- two days. "Alright, I'll let her know," she answered. "You'll know where to find us, of course?"

Haruhi nodded doubtfully, then turned around, heading back to the group. When she glanced behind her, she was half surprised that he hadn't vanished. Well.... Time to prepare Sasaki for her trip back. Kyon was supposed to teach Sasaki about the supernatural, but it seemed he hadn't bothered -- then again, thanks to Fujiwara, she'd realize it when she arrived back in time, wouldn't she?

School night or not, she made a note to stay at Tsuruya's place on Sunday night, so she could keep Sasaki company.

"Ah, yes -- if you're going to get back in any kind of reasonable time for school, you'll have to leave soon, won't you?" Mion mused, frowning.

"Er, that's probably true," Kyon agreed, frowning. "We should probably round up our things...." He glanced at Mikuru curiously.

The time traveler nodded, her smile faded. "We have, um, a bit more than fifteen minutes."

"Ah, a pity -- that's just enough time to get back and change," Rena pouted. "Well -- Sasaki-chan, keep that outfit I loaned you! It fits you better than me!"

"Mion-chan has a hobby of buying outfits for her friends," Keiichi added with a wink. "When we were in school, she picked out uniforms for most of us, too, even though the school didn't officially have one!"

"Now I understand why we get along so well!" Haruhi exclaimed. "Auntie Mion, I have to show you my scrapbook the next time we visit -- I've even gotten Kyon into some great costumes!"

"Do you have a picture of me as a magical girl?" Kyon's sister asked excitedly. "I want to share that one next time!"

"...no, but you've just put a new entry in my to-do list for this weekend," Haruhi declared. "Okay -- but let's not be late-- We've got to make our goodbyes and get ready!"

The festival had been great fun, and visiting with Kyon and his friends was a great joy. Even if their arrival was unexpected, they were quite welcome, and organized enough that they managed to finish changing and gathering their things more quickly than Mion would have thought possible. Matsuri especially was sad to see them go, but Mion knew it couldn't last ... he was going to be in enough trouble from his mother once she figured things out!

The fact that she hadn't called any of them, furious about her missing children, was nothing short of a miracle.

"They didn't mention it," she realized belatedly, once the children were all gathered together in the front room of her house and caught up in playing another game, "but Haruka-chan must have gotten a bus for everyone. I suppose it must be able to get everyone home in time...."

Satoko raised her eyebrows. "I don't think even Kyon's father could drive here fast enough to get here after school would have let out last Friday, though -- so they must have skipped," she admitted. "I feel a bit bad that we're all condoning that sort of misbehavior."

"It's not as bad as it seems," Rika demurred, smirking. "Kyon's got some tricks up his sleeve!"

"Ah, yeah, his father-in-law to be would have a lot of pull with the school, wouldn't he?" Mion mused speculatively.

Keiichi raised his eyebrows, then shook his head. "The kids are being quiet," he remarked, heading toward the living room. "I'll keep an eye on them before they get into trouble."

"His cute little girlfriends were an interesting bunch, weren't they?" Satoko added. "But, I wonder what sort of 'tricks' you were talking about, Rika-chan!"

"Well.... Kyon seems strangely strong, even for a healthy young man," Rena said softly. "Hmm, when I couldn't resist trying to grab that adorable Nagato Yuki-chan at the book signing, Kyon was strong enough to hold me back!"

"Even if you are very strong, Rena-chan...." Satoko paused, and Mion considered the fact that Rena did still tend to chop her own firewood, and also cut firewood for Keiichi's parents, since they were right next door. "Hmm. Aiko-chan mentioned that Kyon knows martial arts, now. He was practicing last Golden Week."

"Well, he'd have to," Mion agreed. "From what I've heard, he's had to deal with some unruly people for his fiancee."

Satoko frowned sharply. "I can't like hearing that ... but anyway, how long has he been training? He never mentioned it, and it's not like we'd forget to ask what his hobbies are when he visits."

Mion tapped her chin thoughtfully. That was true.... Something wasn't quite adding up about the entire thing.

"You know ... when we were wrestling at the book signing, it felt like Kyon was wearing something invisible, and his costume didn't match what I was feeling?" Rena wondered. "Why could that be, I wonder, I wonder? I know I wasn't stressed at the time, and Kei-chan was there, too...."

"You know, I've been thinking about my next book series?" Rena mused in a segue. "It's about a young man who's chosen by a number of different kinds of magical girls-- So a ninja girl, a traditional magical girl, a princess from a different dimension, a fairy...."

"What gave you that inspiration?" Rika asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously as Mion and Satoko fanned out on either side of her, wiggling their fingertips ominously.

"Oh, I just spent some time listening to Nono-chan's stories," Rena explained. "She's gotten some much, much more interesting tales to share than she did last time we chatted!"

Satoko and Mion both froze, turning to look at Rena in surprise, while Rika pouted, muttering, "I should have remembered that she can't keep secrets...."

After the festival concluded, Miyuki followed her parents, since her father was driving them back to their home. From there she would take a train back to Nishinomiya, but she had a lot to think about. Her mother seemed able to tell, and once they were in the car, she asked, "Something on your mind, dear?"

"Not like my little girl to be nervous," her father remarked. "What's bothering you?"

"Is it because that young man was engaged, and you still haven't given me any grand-babies yet?" Miyuki's mother teased gently.

The NPA officer rolled her eyes at that, suppressing the mild jealous twinge she felt at that realization -- though she hadn't considered it before. "No," she refuted. "It's just ... a hypothetical situation."

"How to put it..." Miyuki sighed. "So the question is this; as a public officer I'm sworn to do my best for the public good, and by the letter of the law."

Miyuki frowned, putting her thoughts together. "In what situations would it be acceptable to let a criminal go unpunished, on the grounds that their freedom prevents an even greater crime?" she posed. "Let's say ... an order of magnitude greater -- allowing a suspected yakuza to walk free, as they prevented a terrorist from acting against the country?"

"Uh, hmm," her father sighed. "Now it's a question of not just national law, but national security, isn't it?"

"You mean, like a secret organization within or even funded by the government itself?" her father asked, his voice dropping.

She wasn't sure how else to classify 'inter-dimensional invader' without sounding even sillier, so agreed, "Precisely."

Her father sighed. "I was pretty sure that the statute of limitations had passed, but Miyuki-chan, you're my daughter, and I love you. And I understand and respect that you're doing your job to the very best of your abilities -- I won't make this hard on you."

"Dear..." Miyuki's mother protested, frowning, glancing back at Miyuki briefly before staring at her husband intently.

She had no idea what her father was talking about, and could only stare forward in confusion.

"If you have to arrest me, I won't hold it against you or resist," he concluded, sighing.

"Well, I won't be happy about it!" Miyuki's mother protested. "He was entirely justified, and you know he's a good man! Miyuki-chan, if you arrest your father, I'll only make your favorite udon once a year, instead of every time you visit!"

"What-- What on earth are you talking about?" Miyuki wondered aloud. "I said hypothetical! Wait -- you actually worked with criminals!?"

Her father released a sound midway between an embarrassed chuckle and a laugh. "Ah ... to be entirely honest ... no," he answered. "They were suspects, but I never encountered any proof personally. Despite that, I did work with seemingly suspicious people to prevent a mass murder. Ah ... that's all I can really say that's not classified."

"If it's classified, then your whole 'if you have to arrest me' line was a joke," Miyuki realized aloud, sighing as she settled back into her seat. "Dad, that was so not funny!"

"Ah, I couldn't help it!" he laughed. "You seemed so anxious and upset! I'm sorry, I'm sorry-- Now, what's really bothering you, without needing to worry about 'hypothetical' with your old man?"

Blowing out another sigh, Miyuki grumbled, "I think Keiichi-san's nephew, Kyon, is working with the yakuza in his hometown, fighting off alien invaders, got the ability to appear two places at once, and can turn invisible. I can't find anything both plausible and incriminating about him, but frequently clues that have no business turning up just 'happen' to appear in front of me and lead me to very suspicious events.

"Every time I find something that leads me closer to having something to arrest him, I wonder if I should, and now that I realize I knew him when he was just a baby, I have to wonder if it's a conflict of interest anyway!"

It wasn't until she'd let it all out that she realized how much she'd kept it pent up. What should she do, anyway?

Her father glanced back at her briefly, frowning thoughtfully before turning his attention to the road.

"Miyuki-chan, you're supposed to uphold the law, and do your utmost to protect the people of this country from criminal actions," he said slowly. "I'm not ... sure what to make of all that, but if you're distressed, you can always request a transfer to a new assignment."

"But then ... what if he gets arrested, and it turns out that he can't stop an invasion, or something, because he's in jail?" she asked in frustration. "And ... anyway ... who'd believe that kind of nonsense."

"Well, since this is all hypothetical," he said slowly, "I'd say that hypothetically ... I would."

She jolted faintly at that. "Despite how impossible it seems?" she asked incredulously.

"Nope," her mother countered. "He didn't know them before you were born. He tripped crossing our living room floor!"

"It's not like you just learned them overnight," Miyuki scoffed. "You studied them very intensely when I was small, then?"

"Miyuki-chan, let me tell you a story," her father said softly. "About memories I have that I shouldn't have. If you and your mother weren't already precious to me, well.... Imagine, if you will, that I lost both of you, and dedicated my entire life after that point training myself because I had nothing else to care about."

She couldn't help but fall silent at the seriousness of his voice. As his tale unfolded, she realized that as implausible as it seemed, it might not be as unique as she had previously thought. And perhaps, she resolved, the greatest service she could offer her country ... would be to keep the eyes of the law off Kyon, after all.

Kyon: Big Damn Hero

The Resolution Arc V

Chapter Sixty One: The Watanagashi Festival